Cowboys Corralled • by George Bylich • The Calgary Herald • May 8, 1975 If you've never seen somebody enthused about the prospect of losing money, try the Calgary Cowboys on for size. As the Philadelphia Blazers and, for the past two seasons the Vancouver Blazers, they've grown used to the idea. But as the Cowboys of Calgary the owners hope there may be a rainbow far off in the horizon. The rainbow they won't find, however, for as long as the Corral is restricted to 6,500 seals. The Cowboys are staking their bedrolls on the hope that the citizens of Calgary will cotton to the style of hockey as played in the World Association. Enthusiastic fan support in the form of packed houses will be the key to enlargement of the existing Corral facility and with it continuance of major league hockey in the city. Jerry D'Arcy, president of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede which owns the building, reiterated Wednesday that although there exist plans to enlarge the Corral to major league size (15,000 seals) there, in-fact, was no agreement that such would be done at any specified time. Despite this, the Cowboys officially arrived in Calgary Wednesday. Either the owners are a brute for punishment or they have a healthy respect for the future hockey prospects in this city. Bill Sleeman, an executive vice-president for the majority shareholder, Neonex International Ltd., and a trustee of the Cowboys, feels positive that the rink problems will be overcome in due course. "Even though we've been exposed to the Calgary situation for months, the decision to move the club here wasn't made easily," said Sleeman at a press conference announcing Calgary's entry in the WHA Wednesday. "As a Vancouver-based company, it's only natural we would prefer to have our team play there. For openers, until such time as the Corral is enlarged, we're looking at a loss position in Calgary. We have no commitment the building will be enlarged but if we do a [good] job, the team performs on the ice and the people like the product, then everything will look after itself in due course. A new building is essential for eventual success. We're banking that our investment in the next couple of years will make this a more attractive market in the long run." The Blazers bid adieu to Vancouver simply because they were gradually losing ground to the NHL Canucks. When they arrived on the West Coast a couple of years ago the Canucks were in a morass with uncertain foreign ownership and a distinct ineptitude on the ice. But the fortunes of the Canucks through local ownership and a solid transformation that has made them a competitive team — have turned around and the Blazers realized they were suddenly in a losing battle. For an average paid attendance of 6,000 in their first year, they dropped to 5,000 last season. In commending the presentation made by Scotty Munro, D'Arcy, and Exhibition Board general manager Bill Pratt on behalf of Calgary, Sleeman said the Blazers were impressed by the quality of people involved in the Calgary hockey operation. "We've been appreciative of the calibre of people we've dealt with in Calgary." said Sleeman. "We feel confident this can be a long-lasting and happy marriage." While D'Arcy admitted there were no immediate plans to enlarge the rink, he did say this may be the next priority on the Stampede's list of capital expenditures. "We're looking at a figure of approximately $8.000.000 if we were to upgrade the facility at today's costs," said D'Arcy. If the city supports this venture as I'm almost certain it will, the Exhibition Board may owe it to the people to expand the facility. If we can find a way to handle the financing it'll be done when the situation warrants it." The Corral rental arrangement for the first season will be 15 per cent on the first $1,000,000 with 6-1/2 per cent on the remainder with a flat minimum guarantee of $1,500 per game.

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